A new Overwatch short story reveals that Soldier: 76 is gay

Before he became Soldier: 76, Jack Morrison was in a relationship with a dark-haired man named Vincent.

Bastet is a new Overwatch short story, written by Overwatch lead writer Michael Chu, about Ana and Jack, old friends, new enemies, and memories that never fade. It also establishes in the Overwatch canon that John Francis "Jack" Morrison, the all-American boy who joined the military at age 18 to fight in the Omnic Crisis and ultimately became Soldier: 76, is gay.

Thanks for all the messages about “Bastet”!Jack and Vincent were in a romantic relationship many years ago. Both identify as gay. ❤️January 7, 2019

The adventure begins with Ana on the hunt for Abdul Hakim, a high-profile mob boss in Cairo. But she's distracted by the appearance of Soldier: 76, who she immediately recognizes as her old compatriot Morrison, despite his new disguise. Then Reaper turns up, forcing her to intervene: She's able to subdue and reveal him as Gabriel Reyes, another old friend she thought was dead, before he slips away.

"She was left with the revelation that Gabriel and Jack, two men like brothers to her, were not dead," the story reads, which as revelations go would be pretty big stuff for Ana. For readers invested in Blizzard's world-building, however, the big news comes later on.

"She turned to the next one and almost dropped the photos in surprise. She’d never seen the photo, but she recognized it immediately. Jack looked so much younger. He had just stepped off a military transport for leave. It was the other person in the picture that surprised her—a dark-haired man, dressed in a casual, black button up shirt. Jack’s arm was around his shoulder. Vincent.

"Vincent... I haven’t thought about him in years," Ana said. "Still keeping a candle lit for him?"

Jack shook his head. "Nothing like that."

"You’ve never looked in on him? You must have been curious. All the surveillance power in the world. I bet Gabe would have put a Blackwatch agent on him if you asked," Ana said.

Ana was unconvinced. In the early days, Jack talked about him often, floating a dream that the war would end quickly, and maybe he’d have a chance to return to a normal life. But a normal life was never the reward for people like us.

"Vincent deserved a happier life than the one I could give him.” Jack sighed. "We both knew that I could never put anything above my duty. Everything I fought for was to protect people like him... That’s the sacrifice I made."

"Relationships don’t work out so well for us, do they?" Ana said, unconsciously running her thumb over where her wedding ring used to be.

"At least you and Gabe managed to have families."

The pair lapsed back into silence.

Two years ago, Blizzard revealed that Tracer, the "face" of Overwatch, is gay. She was the first member of the team in the LGBTQ community.